04 January 2009

Manic Monday - Sale

I was almost thrown by this week's word from Mo until I remembered the opening scene from The Music Man where all the salesmen on the train talk about the change in the way businesses is done (Ya Gotta Know The Territory). Then the charlatan traveling Salesman Harold Hill Proceeds to sell River City a Boy's Band (Ya Got Trouble).

It is amazing how much things have changed from when I was a child and there were still door to door salesment such as the "Fuller Brush Man". Later "The Avon Lady" really did make the rounds of the neighborhood rather than just passing the catalogue around at work.

It you wanted an expensive item you either saved up and paid cash or put it on "lay away" and made payments until you could pay it off and pick it up. Admitedly credit makes purchases much more convenient, but the access to easy credit has caused more heartache than I think it may be worth.

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5 comments:

Ah, great scene from a great show and no one does Harold Hill like Robert Preston (certainly NOT Matthew Broderick for all I like him as an actor in other roles). However, the revival I saw on Broadway with Craig Bierko playing Harold was quite passable as he was Preston-like yet not over the top.

Not only do they not make salesmen like they used to, they don't make Broadway shows like they used to - sadly on both counts I think.

About Me

Lifelong Gypsy 21 schools and continued roaming with working career. Seem to have settled down somewhat now that I've reached "senior" status, but still find all maps and schedules fascinating. Favorite movies: Two For The Road, 84 Charing Cross Road, Same Time Next Year, To Kill A Mockingbird, Torchsong Trilogy. TV: Doctor Who & Torchwood on BBC America plus Treme - Game of Thrones

Quotes

"Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." - Buddha

“Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect

But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please—this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time—and squawk for more!

So learn to say No—and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you. (This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)”